Born Behind Bars: A Book Review
Hello Everyone!
I just finished reading a wonderful book written by my favorite author. She is very talented and is the author of the book The Bridge home. She goes by the name of Padma Venkatraman. She recently came out with a new book called Born Behind Bars. If you have read her other book, The Bridge Home, there is a special appearance of a character in this book. This will pleasantly surprise you.
Kabir Khan is a young nine-year-old boy, who was born and raised in a Chennai (India) prison cell. His mom was Hindu and his dad was Muslim. His family was very poor and so his mother worked for a rich family. His pregnant mother was accused of stealing and was sent to jail where Kabir was born. Kabir’s father was a Muslim man and nobody knew where he went. Kabir’s mother says he went to Dubai for work and she doesn’t know anything else. When the jail superintendent says that Kabir has to leave as he is too old to be in the jail, his fathers’ cousin calls and says that he can take him in. Nobody knew who he was as his mother wasn’t familiar with him. Kabir goes with uncle Khan but when he gets to his house, he experiences child labor and leans about his bad intentions. Kabir ends up running away. and meets a Roma girl named Rani and her parrot Jay. Roma is a tribe in India, they go to different places in India. Kabir stays with Rani and is on the mission to find his paternal grandparents. He lives in Tamil Nadu, India but his grandparents lived in Karnataka, a nearby state. He goes with Rani and Jay to find his Muslim grandparents and paternal family. In this journey, they meet some kind people who support them. What will happen next? Where did Kabir’s father go? Will they find Kabir’s family? Will he be able to help his wrongly accused mother? What will happen to Rani? Read this book to find out.
The themes of this book are Family, Friendship, Hope, Courage, Perseverance, and Prejudice. Some other topics discussed in this book are discrimination, Poverty, homelessness, and love. I learned so much from this book such as challenges related to the caste system, the geography of India, and the Roma tribes( which I didn’t know before reading the book).
Fun Fact:
This book is based on a true story that was on TV news years ago.
There is a special guest appearance from The Bridge Home that I will not reveal here!!
This book reminded me of the book A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat
Rating:
5 out of 5
If you would like to read this book, you can order it on Amazon or on your local library.
Being a Hero is a book in progress by Janavi Wagle. She created the graphic to go with the book. “Purchase Being a Hero” Merchandise and Support her creativity.